A Lesson in Love by the Zuckerbergs

Saturday, December 5, 2015

You know how the other day here, I was mentioning the Zuckerbergs' generosity? Little did I know more was coming. Well, they welcomed their child earlier this week, and pledged 99% of their Facebook profits to "humanity". Now the technicalities of this gesture may be somewhat complex, but go through his feed herewhere he explains everything. It's so sad that people are now so cynic, that there have been rumors that he did the whole thing out of a "savior complex" or "selfishly". Some said he did it to avoid tax, others were just furious he made the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative an LLC and not a charity organization. Again, technicalities. However, he and his wife were incredibly smart to do that, because as an LLC, they now have a flexibility (a luxury charity organizations cannot afford) to invest in and donate wherever they wish. The author of this article described it BEST, when he said Zuckerberg is a genius and you would expect that he wouldn't just want to change the world in a trite way of giving money to some charities, but by actually changing the world, literally. Oh, and it will be TAXED. Mark has spent a lot of time explaining his intentions all week; time he could have spent with little Max. Tsk tsk. Can you imagine? We live in such a world where people dare to question what you do with your money or HOW you do what you do. The sheer hubris. Anyway, find below, a post by me originally posted on Bellanaija in which I talk about the Zuckerbergs' love and generosity.

Random picture of Mark Zuckerberg's dog.

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When my brother first told me Mark Zuckerberg and his wife had not only welcomed a child, but also pledged 99% of their profit from Facebook to "humanity", I didn't fully grasp the magnitude of their action. Hours later however, and after reading the note to their child myself, I was filled with deep inspiration and immense awe of their sacrifice and commitment to making the world a better place. I tried but couldn't understand that type of generosity. More so because I am from a country where people are obsessed with accumulating wealth for themselves. In itself, wanting money and more money is not a terrible thing, somewhat selfish maybe, but not terrible. However, I feel like we owe it to ourselves and to our unborn generations to make the world a better place in whatever ways we can.

I remember months ago, a Nigerian celeb mentioned that anyone living in Lagos and has only one stream of income is "not serious". That statement was very unsettling for me, because the person assumed that everyone's ultimately goal is to have much more money than they know what to do with. It's not that desiring gazillions is bad too, it's that I am positive that world powers like Zuckerberg were/are not motivated by money. I don't think that a desire to be the richest person is what makes people that rich. I think that it's an absolute, unshaken passion for what they do and how they do it.

The more I pondered on this famous generosity, the more I fell into a deep retrospection and self-assessment. I thought, if I, an unashamed Christian were to ever be that rich or even as a regular Jane, with the amount of compassion I proclaim, could I EVER give out so selflessly to those in need? I think that theirs is a lesson in love, mercy, compassion, humility, and simplicity for the rest of us. If we want to practice the love we preach, we should do so committedly. Love is not completely ignoring those in dire need and amassing material (and extravagant) possessions we have no need for. Remember that you can have all the faith in the world, thump the bible all you care, or even speak in tongues, you still are nothing without love.

Of course, everyone does not and would not have billions to give out. But that should not reduce your commitment to ridding the world of hate and making this world a better inhabitance. It starts with you and I. It starts with stopping the cowardly act of bullying people under the cloak of anonymity. It means genuinely caring for the poor and needy of our society. If you have WAY extra money than you know what to do with, okay then, invest in someone's education. Is there always a beggar on your way to work, how about you give them a little something for food? It really is in the little acts. These are just examples by the way, do what you can; however you wish too. Just don't occupy the world like it's just you in it. I don't know about you, but I want my unborn children, niece(s), nephew(s) to live in a much better world than this. We really can spread love if we ATTEMPT it. Oh, and for the love of God, we need to remember and understand that not everyone wants to be stupendously rich. Not everyone needs a "side hustle".